In 2016 there will be 20 open gardens in the Elgin and Bot River districts over two weekends. These range from large established country gardens (some over 50 years old), to young, recently planted gardens in villages and on smallholdings, all in a setting of great natural beauty an hour’s drive from Cape Town.

A number of gardens will have plants for sale, and some such as Keurbos, Fairholme and Fresh Woods will be offering unusual and interesting plants difficult to find elsewhere, such as Japanese maples, rhododendrons and other choice perennials, trees and shrubs.

Many gardens are also offering teas and light meals, in addition to the many other restaurants and food gardens in the area. One of the main Elgin charities, Siphila Sonke, will be serving teas and lunches in the Elgin United Church hall along the Viljoenshoop Road, as well as at Eikenhof.

Full details with a map are in a free leafletdownloadable here. The leaflet itself can also be picked up at any major Western Cape nursery from early September on. On the Open Days, they will always be available in the Elgin area at Sithanda Nursery and the Elgin Valley Tourism office (both at Peregrine Farm Stall complex), as well as at the Orchard Farm Stall.

This is the 15th year of the Elgin Open Gardens scheme. Here in the uplands of the Western Cape, we pride ourselves on the range of plants we can grow in the heavier soils of this cooler and wetter area, in a part of the country also renowned for its fynbos, its fruit and wines, and its nurseries.